GM designer hailed as visionary, crafted iconic Cadillac fins

Whether a big-finned Cadillac or a roaring Corvette, when Charles “Chuck” Jordan designed an automobile, he did so following his own motto, “No dull cars.” From building scale models as a grade-school student to his tenure as vice president of design at General Motors, his unwavering passion was for all things vehicular.

Under Mr. Jordan’s design direction at GM, models such as the 1958 Chevrolet Corvette, the Buick Reatta, the Camaros and Firebirds of the 1990s, and the 1992 Cadillac STS were produced. His team also turned out the concept cars Oldsmobile Aerotech, the Ultralite, and the Sting Ray III.

“Every design had its own complement of characteristics that made you feel, ‘That’s the car,’ ” said Ron Van Gelderen, who, with Mr. Jordan, formed the League of Retired Automotive Designers in 2003 to motivate retired designers to pick up their pencils again and think futuristically.

“He wanted to have designs that would make those who viewed them say, ‘Wow! That is fantastic! I want one of those!’ ”

Mr. Jordan died of lymphoma on Dec. 9 at his home in Rancho Santa Fe. He was 83.

Charles Morrell Jordan was born Oct. 21, 1927 in Whittier, the second of five children to Charles and Bernice Jordan. He graduated from Fullerton High School. As a sophomore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, in 1947, he won the General Motors Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild design competition, which was the launching point of his lifelong career with the automotive giant.

After graduating from MIT in 1949, he joined GM as a junior staffer designing tractors, and by the time he was 26, he was chief designer of GM’s Special Projects studio. At 30, he became chief designer of Cadillac, and with his team, crafted the outsized tail fins on the now-iconic 1959 Eldorado.

In 1962, he was named executive in charge of exterior design for GM. That same year, Life magazine called Mr. Jordan one of the “100 most important young men and women in the United States” in its “Takeover Generation” issue.

In a recent interview with

autoweek.com, Volvo designer Geza Loczi, who worked for Mr. Jordan at GM from 1965 to 1980, said, “Chuck is probably one of the most visionary people I’ve ever known; he was always pushing for the guys to explore originality and newness.”

In 1986, Mr. Jordan was named vice president of design for all of General Motors, becoming only the fourth man in the company’s history to hold that position.

After retiring in 1992, he moved to Rancho Santa Fe, remaining active in the automotive design community and teaching his craft at Valhalla and La Costa Canyon high schools for eight years. He was also an avid collector of Ferrari cars, literature and scale models.

Mr. Jordan is survived by his wife of 58 years, Sally; son Mark of Laguna Niguel; daughters Melissa Hall of Oxford, Mich., and Debra Bryan of Rochester, Mich.; brothers Stan of Selma, Ore., and John of Fullerton; sister Ruth Kennelly of Fullerton; and four grandsons.

A memorial service will be held in Michigan.

A scholarship has been created in Mr. Jordan’s name, and donations may be made to the College for Creative Studies, Att.: Liz Klos, Director of Annual Giving and Donor Services, 201 E. Kirby, Detroit, MI 48202.